Technical Field
Aspects of the embodiments relate to shades, and more particularly to systems, methods, and modes for a roller shade having a hem bar assembly that absorbs the light gap created between the bottom of the shade material and a horizontal surface, such as a sill, without any additional hardware or changes in the appearance of the roller shade.
Background Art
Roller shades are effective in screening windows, doors, or the like, to achieve privacy and thermal effects. A roller shade typically includes a rectangular shade material attached at its top end to a cylindrical rotating tube, called a roller tube, and at an opposite bottom end to a hem bar assembly. The shade material is wrapped around the roller tube. The roller tube is rotated, either manually or via an electric motor, to unravel the shade material to cover a window.
When the roller shade material is lowered to cover the window, the bottom of the shade contacts a horizontal surface, such as the floor or a window sill. Often, however, the floor or the sill surface is uneven or unleveled. As a result, the shade can only be lowered to a point where the bottom of the shade makes contact with the highest point of the uneven surface. This creates a light gap, or a light bleed, at any point at which the shade does not contact the uneven surface. If the shade is lowered beyond the point of first contact, the shade's fabric will buckle and create unseemly folds or ripples where excess fabric is present.
Certain applications require a blackout shade that provides advanced light blockage and privacy, such as in bedrooms and media rooms. Current blackout roller shades use additional accessories to create a complete blackout by eliminating the light gap between the shade material and the floor or the sill. One such solution includes an L-shaped bracket attached to the uneven surface of the floor or the sill creating a lip behind which the shade material can be lowered in order to mask the uneven light gap. Another solution includes a first longitudinal hooked portion attached to the sill that hooks to a second longitudinal hooked portion attached to the bottom of the shade material to mask the light gap. Another method provides a channel affixed to the bottom of the shade material that includes a separate liner material, such as a weather strip, which conforms to the uneven surface of the sill and masks the light gap. The aforementioned solutions, however, create additional cost and add hardware that can be unsightly, detract from the clean look of the installed product, and which may mar the surface of the window sill.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a hem bar assembly that absorbs the light gap created between the bottom of the shade material and a horizontal surface, such as a sill, without any additional hardware or changes in the appearance of the roller shade.